It has been several months
since we last transmitted slow scan television (SSTV) on VOA Radiogram.
Emiliano in Italy notes that the International Space Station has been using the
PD180 SSTV mode. He suggested that we compare PD180 SSTV images with our usual
MFSK32 images. And, so, we will do that this weekend.

To decode PD180, download
MMSSTV from http://hamsoft.ca/pages/mmsstv.php
. (In theory, MultiPSK also decodes PD180, although I have not yet successfully
decoded PD180 using MultiPSK.)

In the MMSSTV interface, under
RX Mode, right-click on any mode to reveal the complete list of modes. Left
click on the mode for it to appear in the main menu. "Auto" under RX Mode
should detect that PD180 is the mode, but to be safe, manually select PD180.

After the image is fully
decoded, you can right click on the image, then Copy it to MS Paint or other
program that lets you save images. Or, by clicking on MMSSTV's History, you can
use the left-right arrows to find the image you have decoded, then use the copy
icon, or right-click to copy.

Another twist in this weekend’s
show will be the transmission schedule in Olivia 64-2000 16 dB under the
closing music. That will be followed by the usual “thank you” message, also in
Olivia 64-2000, but at full level. The RSID will not be sent during the second
Olivia 64-2000 transmission, so if you missed it at

-16dB, set the mode
manually.

Here is the lineup for VOA
Radiogram, program 113, 30-31 May 2105, all in MFSK32 except where noted …

The Mighty
KBC will transmit a minute of MFSK64
Sunday at about 0230 UTC (Saturday 10:30 pm EDT) on 9925 kHz (via Germany). This
temporary time slot is one hour later than usual, and it coincides with the VOA
Radiogram broadcast at the same time. If you have only one radio, decode from
The Mighty KBC at 0230 UTC, then quickly retune to 5745 kHz for VOA Radiogram.
Reports for the KBC MFSK64 to Eric: themightykbc@gmail.com .

Thank you for your reports from
last weekend. I continue to be two weeks behind is responding to your emails,
but I will try to improve that to merely one week behind.

Tuesday, May 26, 2015

Shortwave-program:Radio Mi Amigo International will
be on shortwave EVERY DAY from 1st of June.The exact times are (all times
CET) :Monday to Friday: --- 7.05pm to 8pm --- 6005 khzSaturday: ---
8am to 2pm --- 6005 khz (from 10am to 2pm also on 9560 khz)Sunday:
--- 8am to 12midday --- 6005 khz (from 10am to 12midday also 9560
khz)Sunday: --- 12 midday to 4pm --- 7310 khz (from 12 midday to 2pm
also on 9560 khz)

Mediumwave-program:From June you can also listen
to Radio Mi Amigo programmes on 1485 khz from Riga, Latvia which
alsoserves parts of Scandinavia and parts of north east
Germany...Saturday : --- 10pm to midnight --- 1485 khzSunday
: --- 05pm to 6pm and 8pm to midnight --- 1485 kHz(Manuel Méndez,Lugo, Spain/HCDX)

On
a recent occasion here in Wavescan, we presented an episode about the
illustrious shortwave station WYFR up to the time when all 14
shortwave transmitters were installed in their new facility at Okeechobee in
Florida.This bevy of transmitters
included one new unit that had been in storage for some time at the Continental
factory in Dallas Texas; 5 that were transferred from the WRUL-WNYW-WYFR
shortwave station at Hatherly Beach, Scituate in Massachusetts; and 8 that were
constructed by the station staff at Okeechobee.

In the onward flow of information
about this huge shortwave station, we pick up the story again in the year 1988
at the time when the full complement of transmitters at Okeechobee was on the
air in active service.

As the transferred and new
transmitters were installed progressively at Okeechobee, they were initially
designated with the numbers from 1 - 14 in the order in which they were installed.However, as time went by, the designation of
each unit was modified and each transmitter was then identified in the
progressive order of the actual location within the transmitter building.

At this stage (1988), shortwave WYFR
contained the following compliment of transmitters:-

2 Continental418D100
kWNew, though one was previously
on air at Scituate

1 Continental417B50Previously on air at Scituate

2 Harris GatesHF100100Previously on air
at Scituate

1 GatesHF50C50Previously on air at Scituate

8 WYFR100All
new, design based on Continental 418D

All 14 shortwave transmitters at
WYFR were on the air in daily usage with programming in some 20 languages
beamed at varying times throughout the day to all continents.And, beginning each day at2200 UTC in 1988 for example, all 14
transmitters were on the air at the same time, with a total output power into
the antenna systems of a massive 1.3 MW (megawatts).

In addition to the full complement
of 14 shortwave transmitters, 2 at 50 kW and 12 at 100 kW, WYFR
programmingwas beamed almost worldwide
with a bevy of 23 antennas; 12 log periodics, 5 nested double rhomboids (10),
and a TCI curtain with a passive reflector.The feeder transmission lines running from the transmitter building to
the various antenna systems as shown on an engineering map are described as appearing like the spokes of a huge wagon wheel.

Audio Insert

WYFR: Theme music &
identification announcement

Over the years, there have been a
few occasions when WYFR has sustained significantdamage under the impact of tropical storms
and hurricanes.For example, during the
year 2004, WYFR was damaged by Hurricanes Frances and Jeanne, and then again
during the following year by Hurricane Wilma.

In advance of the coming storms, the
WYFR staff made adequate preparation to safeguard their station against wind,
rain and lightning.Outdoor items that
might blow around were secured, the transmitters and other electronic equipment
inside the transmitter building were covered with plastic sheeting to safeguard
against rain, and the transmitters were shut down when the open wire
transmission lines began to slap around in the wind.

On these stormy occasions, some of
the outdoor facilities were damaged, including antennas, feeder lines and
switches.After the systems were
repaired following Hurricane Wilma, the 100 kW transmitters were on the air for
a while at half power.

During its nearly 36 years of active
service, shortwave WYFR was on the air daily with the continuous broadcast of
its massive program output that was heard in almost every country of the
world.During this long era, they
celebrated four major anniversaries, their 10th,
20th, 25th and 30th.

One
of the unique broadcasting arrangements that was implemented by Family Radio
was a long series of relay transmissions via major shortwave stations operated
by other international radio broadcasting organizations.The first of these international program
relays began without prior announcement on January 1, 1982, under a reciprocal
agreement with Radio Taiwan International.WYFR programming was relayed via RTI, and RTI programming was relayed by
WYFR.

Over a period of more than 30 years,
the international programming of Family Radio was noted on the air via
shortwave transmitters owned and operated by a multitude of other shortwave
broadcasting organizations at more then 30 different locations on all
continents except Australia.During a
special series of test transmissions in 2003 that was arranged by NASB, the
National Association of Shortwave Broadcasters, two half hour programs compiled
by WYFR were broadcast over the original WRMI at Hialeah with 50 kW on 7385
kHz.

The most unusual relay of WYFR
programming had to be over station WTTZ “somewhere in Europe”.A listener in Kristiansand Norway reported in
2008 that he was listening to the programing from station WTTZ on 6925 kHz
several nights in a row.The noted
American specialist in pirate radio activity, George Zeller, states that he
knows nothing about the unauthorized European shortwave station with a fake
American callsign, and we can only presume that the WYFR relay via WTTZ was an
unauthorized operation by a hobby broadcaster.

Shortwave station WYFR was always a
prolific verifier of reception reports and their QSL cards were issued from
their head office in Oakland California.More than a dozen different QSL cards are known, and if any international
radio monitor in some part of the world out there was able to collect at least
one card from each design, the tally would be much higher.

Their20th anniversary
QSL card was quite unique, in that it was in reality a pair of cards.The photo on the left hand side card featured
the studio staff in Oakland California, and the photo on the right hand side
card featured the staff at the transmitter station in Okeechobee Florida.When the two cards are placed side by side,
the reading of the text, and the map of the world, are shown as complete.

The end came mid year 2013, on June
30, to be exact; and the illustrious WYFR was no more.It was silenced forever, at least under the
original callsign.As we know, the
station itself was taken over by Radio Miami International
and rejuvenated, and the callsign WRMI was transferred from the 50 kW station
in Hialeah to the Okeechobee station with its 14 transmitters.This station is still the largest privately
operated shortwave station in the Western Hemisphere.

We express appreciation to Dan
Elyea, Engineering Manager at WYFR, for information he has provided for this
lengthy series of topics on this illustrious shortwave station in Florida.In addition, he kindly vetted each of the scripts
in the series on WYFR to ensure that the information was accurate, and that it
presented the story appropriately.We
wish him well for a well-deserved and happy retirement.

On the next occasion when we take a
look at the story of an international shortwave station in the United States,
we plan to go back to the beginning, and present the long and interesting
history of the shortwave station associated with the famous mediumwave station
KDKA in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania.

Solar activity was at low levels from 18-23 May with very low levels observed on 24 May. Only low level isolated C-class flaring was observed during the period originating from Regions 2349 (S21,L=002, class/area Dao/060 on 24 May), 2351 (N22, L=330, class/area Cso/020 on 20 May), and 2353 (N07, L=344, class/area Dao/060 on 24 May). Region 2339 (N13, L=129, class/area Fkc/900 on 08 May), which was very productive last period, decayed as it quietly rotated around the NW limb on 18 May. Region 2349 emerged on the visible disk on 18 May, but did not show any significant growth until 23 May. Region 2353 emerged on 21 May and exhibited growth through the end of the period. However, both regions only managed 60 millionths of coverage by the end of the period. No Earth directed coronal mass ejections were observed.

No proton events were observed at geosynchronous orbit.

The greater than 2 MeV electron flux at geosynchronous orbit was at normal levels on 19 and 24 May, moderate levels from 20-23 May, and at high levels on 18 May.

Geomagnetic field activity ranged from quiet to major storm conditions. The period began under the influence of a co-rotating interaction region followed by a positive polarity equatorial coronal hole high speed stream (CH HSS). Total field increased to a maximum of 18 nT at 19/0052 UTC while the Bz component fluctuated between +13 nT and -15 nT late on 18 May through early on 19 May.Solar wind increased to near 575 km/s by midday on 19 May before slowly returning to nominal conditions by late on 20 May. The geomagnetic field responded with minor to major storm conditionslate on 18 May through early on 19 May. Quiet to unsettled levels were observed on 20 May. A return to quiet conditions occurred on 21 May and persisted through the end of the period.

Forecast of Solar and Geomagnetic Activity 25 May - 20 June 2015

Solar activity is expected to be at very low to low levels. A chance for moderate levels exists from 30 May through 11 Jun with the return of Region 2339.

No proton events are expected at geosynchronous orbit.

The greater than 2 MeV electron flux at geosynchronous orbit is expected to be at normal to moderate levels with high levels possible from 31 May-01 Jun, 04-06 Jun, 10-12 Jun, and 16-20 Jun dueto recurrent CH HSS effects.

Monday, May 18, 2015

In
recent time, the attention of the international radio world has been focused on
the closure of the Deutsche Well
shortwave relay station located north of Kigali in the land-locked African
nation of Rwanda.Our QSL of the week
was issued by Deutsche Welle verifying the reception of their Kigali relay
station, not at the time when it was closing, but rather at the time when it
had just been opened and taken into service, in 1963.

Norbert Reiner of Karlsruhe in
Germany recently sent us a reception report of an AWR program in the French
language that was on relay from Deutsche Well Kigali. His recent report was one of the last AWR
broadcasts from Kigali, and it was heard on the frequency 17800 kHz just before
the station was closed.

In his recent reception report
addressed to the AWR office in Indianapolis, Norbert Reiner states: In my QSL
collection there is a verification for my reception of the inauguration
broadcast of the Deutsche Welle Kigali relay station. The date for that memorable broadcast was way
back more than half a century ago.

:Issued: 2015 May 18 0402 UTC
# Prepared by the US Dept. of Commerce, NOAA, Space Weather Prediction Center
# Product description and SWPC web contact www.swpc.noaa.gov/weekly.html
#
# Weekly Highlights and Forecasts
#
Highlights of Solar and Geomagnetic Activity 11 - 17 May 2015
Solar activity was low from 11-15 May. The largest event of the period was a C9/1n at 13/1838 UTC associated with a filament eruption near Region 2345 (N16, L=113, class/area Axx/020 on 13
May). Region 2339 (N13, L=129, class/area Fkc/900 on 08 May) was the most active region on the disk and produced 19 C-class events during the period. There were several filament eruptions observed during the period however, none of them turned out to be geoeffective. Solar activity decreased to very low levels for 16-17 May.
The greater than 10 MeV proton flux at geosynchronous orbit was enhanced on 12 May reaching a peak flux of 6 pfu at 12/0720 UTC but never crossed alert threshold.
The greater than 2 MeV electron flux at geosynchronous orbit was at normal to moderate levels on 11-13 May before reaching high levels daily for the remainder of the period in response to effects from a negative polarity coronal hole high speed stream (CH HSS).
Geomagnetic field activity was at unsettled to active levels on 11 May and mostly unsettled levels on 12 May due to extended periods of negative Bz. On 13 May, geomagnetic field conditions increased to active to major storm levels due to the onset of a recurrent negative polarity CH HSS. Quiet to unsettled levels persisted on 14-15 May as effects from the HSS subsided. Quiet conditions
prevailed for the remainder of the period.
Forecast of Solar and Geomagnetic Activity 18 May - 13 June 2015
Solar activity is expected to be at very low levels with a chance for C-class flares and a slight chance of M-class flares on 18 May before decreasing further to only a chance for C-class flares once
Region 2339 rotates fully around the west limb on 19 May. The chance for M-class activity increases on 25 May with the return of old Region 2335 (S15, L=192) and remain elevated through the remainder of the forecast period.
No proton events are expected at geosynchronous orbit.
The greater than 2 MeV electron flux at geosynchronous orbit is expected to be at moderate to high levels from 18-28 May due to residual effects from last weeks negative polarity CH HSS followed
by effects from an anticipated positive polarity HSS due to become geoeffective on 18 May. Normal to moderate levels are expected to prevail with the exception of 31 May-01 Jun, 04-06 Jun, and 10-12
Jun following various recurrent CH high speed streams.
Geomagnetic field activity is expected to be quiet to active on 18-19 May due to effects from a positive polarity CH HSS. Mostly quiet conditions are expected from 20 May to 01 Jun. Quiet to
unsettled conditions with a chance for active periods are expected on 02-03 Jun due to effects from a negative polarity HSS followed by quiet conditions through 06 Jun. Unsettled conditions are expected on 07 and 10 Jun as well as active to minor storm conditions on 08-09 Jun due to the anticipated return of the recurrent negative polarity CH HSS that yielded major storm conditions this week. Mostly quiet conditions are expected for the remainder of the period.

WASHINGTON, D.C., May 13,
2015 -- Voice of America is leading
international coverage of the political upheaval in Burundi with on-the-scene
reporting and new programming in Kirundi, Kinyarwanda,
French, Swahili, and English.

VOA East Africa Correspondent Gabe
Joselow reported from the streets of Burundi's capital early Wednesday amid
reports of a coup against President Pierre Nkurunziza. He filmed thousands of
people cheering President Nkurunziza's apparent ouster, but also cautioned that
their celebrations may be premature as the depth of military support for coup
leader General Godefroid Niyombare was unclear.

VOA's Central Africa Service
broadcast General Niyombare's statement claiming power and balanced it with an
interview with President Nkurunziza's Interior Minister Edouard Nduwimana, who
said the coup had failed and the president was on his way back to Bujumbura. VOA
reporters in Burundi provided live updates on the standoff outside the national
radio station along with a series of interviews with protestors.

The Central Africa Service broadcast
White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest's call for all sides to end the
violence and his pronouncement that the Obama administration continues to
recognize President Nkurunziza. The Service also spoke to opposition politician
Hussein Radjab and George Mason University professor Elavie Ndura while
profiling General Niyombare and his objection to President Nkurunziza running
for a third term.

VOA's Swahili
Service reported from Dar es Salaam, where President Nkurunziza was
scheduled to meet with regional leaders to discuss Burundi's political crisis.
Swahili carried a statement from Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete condemning
the coup and calling for a postponement of next month's vote. The service also
interviewed Burundian opposition politician Agathon Rwasa, who backed removing
the president but objected to military rule.

VOA's French-to-Africa
Service preempted regular programming to focus on the crisis in
Burundi. The English-language television show Africa 54 led with original
Joselow reporting from Bujumbura and an on-set interview with Professor
Ndura.

The political upheaval follows
President Nkurunziza's decision to run for re-election, which his opponents say
violates a regional peace accord limiting the president to two terms. President
Nkurunziza says he is not bound by those limits because parliament voted him to
his first term.

As clashes between police and
anti-government protesters increased, VOA this week began boosting broadcasts to
Burundi, adding shortwave and FM broadcasts in Kirundi, Kinyarwanda, Kiswahili,
French, and English. VOA is now able to provide more reporting from the ground,
new drive-time newscasts, and an expanded call-in show.

"The uncertainty of the situation in
Burundi following the coup attempt makes accurate reporting even more
essential," says VOA Director David Ensor. "Our coverage played a vital role
before these events, and it is even more important now to help keep our
audiences informed."

We are delighted to announce the availability of the new
WRTH Bargraph Frequency Guide for the A15 season. The CD contains the
complete, and monitored, A15 international broadcasts on LW, MW and SW, and
fully updated domestic shortwave, displayed as a pdf colour
bargraph.

There are also other pdf and xls files to help you get the most
out of the Bargraph. All these files are also available on a downloadable Zip
file...

The CD and Download are only available from the WRTH site. Visit
our website atwww.wrth.com/_shop at http://www.wrth.com(Hardyman, May 12; via Anker
Petersen-DEN, dswci DXW May 13/WWDXC Top Nx 1208)

15420.123 Another odd frequency outlet from Al Dhabbaya's four
250 kW units. BBCWS English noted at 0550 UT on May 9. On 15790 kHz BBC
Arabic is on even frequency from UAE?, or is back again to BBC Al Seela Oman
relay site outlet?(wb, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews May 9 / 10)
(WWDXC/Top Nx 1208)

Uganda
4750 Dunamis Shortwave, Mukono. May 5, 2015 at 1800 UT noted gospel
songs on 4750 kHz with poor/fair reception due to local noise. Later also
English religious programming. Couldn't get an ID but a fellow DXer here in Finland,
Jari Lehtinen, managed to hear them ID. Signed off at 1909 UT. Dunamis
Shortwave, Mukono had been silent and irregular for quite some time.(Jari
Savolainen-FIN, DXplorer May 5)

4750 Dunamis SW. Per Jari's tip (tnx
Yari!) Heard this station via the Perseus site in east Finland on May 6 with non-stop highlife music from 1744 tune to 1836 UT, at which time the Perseus
site abruptly disconnected and I could not re-tune.(Mauno Ritola-FIN,
DXplorer May 6)

4750 Dunamis, SWDunamis SW was better today than
6 May with signals improving steadily after 1830 UT to sign off - programming
abruptly stopped in mid-song at 1917 UT and the carrier went down at 1917:29
UT. Whatever happened on 7 May was fixed today. Tuned both Karelia MWDX and
TreDXK Perseus sites today with similar signal levels on both sites.

No announcement heard, and no religious programming, just local music. Decent signal strength (SINPO
2v3/3/3/3/3) with periodic utility interference both below and above the channel.
Re-tuning today (May 7), good carrier presentation from same site as well as north Sweden, but audio was prettymuch non-existent. Likewise from the Brisbane
site, but there the carrier was a bit weaker. Perhaps station staff is having
technical issues with thetransmitter.(Bruce Churchill-CA-USA, DXplorer April 7
/ 8)(WWDXC-Top Nx 1208)

5020.0 SIBC - The Voice of the Nation, May 12 back to their
normal frequency; ex anomaly 9545 kHz; at 0922 UT with the "Derek Prince
Legacy Radio" religious program in English; ID - SIBC, the Voice of the
Nation; 1015 UT info about a tropical low causing rain, but "possibility of a
cyclone is low"; poor with Cuban interference from 5025 kHz.(Ron Howard-CA-USA, wwdxc
BC-DX TopNews May 12)

5020 SIBC Honiara on May
12. Heard this morning from 1132 to 1204* UT with rather good signals
(improving due to dawn enhancement). Noted with news at 1132 UT, followed
with a variety program, with one selection by Amy Cross (C&W Ballad) .TC
at 1155 UT, then Religious Sermon by preacher with rather dubious "Hell and
Brimstone" scriptures. Closing announcements, nice ID for SIBC and then
National Anthem played to 1204* UT. Best heard on the 31/60 meter
Trap-sloper.(Edward Kusalik-Alb-CAN VE6EFK, DXplorer May 12)(WWDXC-Top News 1208)

HCJB Quito, Ecuador is surely one of the most famous
shortwave stations. We have a number of historic items from the station, and
we are going to put them all on a special "HCJB Tribute" page.

To
start off we have posted a pamphlet called "Songs and Scenes" which, as the
name implies, contains some photos of the station as well as sheet music for
some songs, several of which were written by HCJB co-founder Clarence W.
Jones.

Judging from the copyright dates of the songs and the "Gospel
Sound Truck" in one of the photos, this pamphlet appears to date from the
very late 1940s or early 1950s. Note the group photo on p. 14. That's
definitely Clayton Howard in the front row, far left, and maybe Helen in the
back row, fourth from the left. Both had arrived at the station circa
1941.(via new History material at http://www.ontheshortwaves.com(Jerry Berg-MA-USA, DXplorer May
10/WWDXC Top Nx 1208)

Friday, May 15, 2015

After the MT63-2000L bonus mode
of program 108, Walt in the UK suggested that we transmit an entire news story
in this mode. That will happen this weekend. This long-interleave version uses
the entire 2000 Hz we have available in one sideband of a shortwave AM channel.
I have measured its speed at nearly 200 words per minute, about twice as fast as
our usual MFSK32 mode.

Here is the lineup for VOA
Radiogram, program 111, 16-17 May 2015,
all in MFSK32 except where indicated:

A valid QSL from a spy numbers station
is quite a rarity, and the only known spy numbers station ever known to verify
was on the air in Prague, Czechoslovakia under the callsign OLX. Over the years, many international radio
monitors have heard this enigmatic station when it was broadcasting a series of
numbers in groups of five, either in Morse Code or in speech.

It is understood that these numbers
broadcasts utilize a once only numbers pad and that they are one way
transmissions to spies in another country.
Similar radio transmissions have been noted from other shortwave
stations located in several different countries in Europe and the Americas.

It is believed that the numbers
broadcasts from Prague emanated from the Ministry of Internal Affairs building
in Prague, though the actual location of the shortwave transmitter itself is
not known. The callsign OLX belongs to the Czech News Agency, so probably the
spy broadcasts were transmitted from their shortwave station, perhaps somewhere
on the edge of Prague.

The QSL sheet from station OLX, as
today’s
QSL of the Week, was addressed to “Vassily”and
it shows a panorama picture of downtown Prague.
The QSL verifies a reception report dated December 7, 1995 when the
station was heard on 9320 kHz in SSB single side band mode, apparently in
speech. It
is known that just a few other international radio monitors have received a
verification from spy numbers station OLX.
This broadcast service ended many years ago, in 1977.

As
would be expected after such a massive earthquake that occurred recently, the
Himalayan country of Nepal is still in recovery mode in a slowly progressive
move towards normalcy. Crumbled
buildings are still yielding the dead, and during the past week a few living
though injured survivors have been rescued.

Massive aid has been brought in to
Nepal, and the need for just as much further aid is still required. It is indeed additionally requisite that a
monumental endeavor on the part of the Nepali government as well as its
citizens will need to be implemented in order to piece together again the
regular routine of family and business life throughout their nation.

The mountainous country of Nepal
lies as a buffer state between its hugely larger neighbors, China and India.
The country itself is 500 miles long and 150 miles wide. The northern areas are composed of rugged and
high mountain ranges, and the southern areas are made up of farmlands and
villages, though in many locales it is still quite hilly. The total population is in the range of 27
million, and their capital city is Kathmandu with around ¾million
inhabitants.

From the very earliest times, people
have lived in the Nepali areas of the Himalaya Mountains. It is thought that the earliest known society
in Nepal were the Kusunda people, who lived in what is now western Nepal.

According to a feature article
broadcast by the BBC London three years ago, there was only one person left who
still speaks the Kusunda language.
Subsequently however, a few other people who are fluent in the language
have been discovered, and the known total now stands at seven or eight. There are several different theories
regarding the Kusunda language, including that the Kusunda people and their
language are related to the Andaman Islands, and to Irian Jaya, western New
Guinea.

A national census in 2011 listed 123
spoken languages in Nepal, though the regional language of Kathmandu, Nepali,
has become the official national language.
The Nepali language is closely related to Hindi and Bengali, and it is
written with the Devanagari script, as in Hindi.

Around 500 BC, small kingdoms and
clan confederations began to grow in the southern more hospitable areas of
Nepal. A prince in one of these small
kingdoms renounced his royal privileges; he led an ascetic life, and developed
a new religion. The young prince is
better known in our era as Gautama Buddha.

However, Buddhism is not the
dominant religion in Nepal these days.
Around 10% are Buddhist, and around 80% are Hindu. Both Islam and Christianity are minority
religions in Nepal.

Towards the end of the 1700s, the
various communities in Nepal began to come together as one nation, though this
was accomplished in several bloody battles.
British influence came to Nepal with the growing encroachments of the
British East India Company in Calcutta, and this included another war.

The Royal family in the Kingdom of
Nepal provided top government leaders, including Prime Ministers, for more than
two centuries, though these days, Nepal is considered to be a Federal
Parliamentary Republic.

It was back in the year 1929 that
the first radio receivers were imported into the country of Nepal. The royal family imported from England half a
dozen already assembled receivers that were made available to family members
and top government officials. It is
stated that Mr. Dev Mani Dixit in Kathmandu imported the seventh radio
receiver independently from England and when he received it, he staged a
celebration party to honor the occasion.

It is probable that the imported
English radio receivers back then were housed in ornate wooden cabinets and
that they were capable of receiving radio stations that were broadcasting on
the mediumwave and longwave bands.
However, at that stage, there were no radio transmitters in Nepal, and
the only radio broadcasting stations on the air anywhere nearby
were located in India. At that time, the
broadcasting stations in India were transitioning from the experimental era to
the early era under what later became AIR, All India Radio.

During the earlier part of World War
2 in Asia, the government of Nepal confiscated all radio receivers throughout
Nepal and they were taken into storage at Singha Durbar in suburban
Kathmandu. At the time, it is estimated
that there were just 500 receivers in Kathmandu itself. However in 1946, many months after the war
was concluded, the receivers were returned to their owners.

Available information would indicate
that the first radio transmitter in Nepal was a low powered unit that was
installed for official communication purposes in 1939. This transmitter, rated at just a ¼kW
we would suggest, was heard in the United States in December on a communication
channel 14780 kHz with the identification announcement “Radio
Kathmandu”. For a couple of months, this station was
heard occasionally in the United States at 4:00 am and 9:30 pm, eastern.

During the era before the official
government radio broadcasting station, Radio Nepal, was established in 1951,
there were at least four separate occasions when radio broadcasting was
attempted.However, none of these
attempts resulted in establishing a permanent station.

In April 1945, the American radio
journal Radio News carried a news item stating that a shortwave station that
identified as “The
Voice of the Himalayas”was on the air from 3:00 am to 9:00 am American eastern time. The operating frequency was 11790 kHz in the
standard 25 metre band.

Nothing else is known about this
purported ‘Voice
of the Himalayas”.
Was it an unsuccessful attempt at program broadcasting via the ¼kW
communication transmitter? I guess we
will never know!

However, during the following year
(1946) there was another beginning for radio broadcasting in Kathmandu. Prime Minister Padma Shamsher
Rana, a member of the royal family, had a radio transmitter assembled from
radio receivers that were brought back into the country by soldiers returning
home after the end of World War 2.

This radio station was placed on the
air so that the Prime Minister could address the nation on important issues. It was on the air for only a few months at
the most.

Two years later in January 1948, the
same prime minister assembled a hybrid carrier current style system at Bijuli
Adda in suburban Kathmandu. The
equipment was transferred from Bojhpur in eastern Nepal where it had been in
use locally under a company style title, Mohan Aakashbani.

This hybrid telecommunication system
consisted of a low power transmitter with programming that was distributed over
the telephone system, as in cable radio.
However, the signal from the transmitter could also be picked up direct
on a radio receiver.

This prime minister resigned
on April 30 (1948), and the radio station was closed soon afterwards. However, the radio station was reopened in
August under the new prime minister,

Mohan Shamsher who was another member
of the Rana royal family. He also
imported two new radio transmitters, though it does not seem that they were
ever installed and taken into usage.

Then in early 1951, a group of
political leaders installed a radio broadcasting station at Biratnagar, in
eastern Nepal near the border with India.
This station was on the air for just a few weeks at the most, under the
political title, Prajatantra Nepal Radio.

However shortly afterwards, all of
the available radio equipments were assembled in Kathmandu and installed into a
two storey building that had been previously in use as a privately operated
school. With the usage of the previous ¼kW
shortwave communication transmitter, Nepal Radio made its inaugural broadcast
on 7100 kHz in the 40 metre amateur band, on April 3, 1951.

And that’s
where we plan to pick up the story again, here in Wavescan next week.